last words. >> i congratulate him on taking out osama bin laden but we can't kill out of this mess. >> president obama and mitt romney stare each other down one more time. >> i'm not going to wear rose colored glasses when it comes to russia or mr. putin. >> from from red glasses to red ink, did mitt romney gaughan any red states? or did president obama zing his way to a win? >> so the question is not a game

of battleship. >> we go to the scorecards on a special "early start. good morning. welcome to "early start," everyone. >> it's 5:00 a.m. in the east. >> the debates are done. more debates. president obama and mitt romney going toe to toe over america's role on the world stage. >> and by most accounts, it was a more forceful president obama who came out on top last night. the majority of analysts and voters agreeing mitt romney was on the defensive for much of this foreign policy face-off. a cnn poll of people who watched this third and final debate shows 48% favored obama with 40% for romney. the president now two for three in the showdowns in the polling. he also won the second debate by seven points after taking a 42-point beating in debate number one. senior congressional correspondent dana bash live

from boca raton, florida. the million dollar question is how much of an impact will this debate have on the outcome of the race, if any? >> reporter: it sure is. you know, if you look at this election season, debates have mattered. and that has been true since the republican primary. this debate, though, was a tricky one for the candidates. it was about foreign policy which does not rank high on the priority list for voters. so each candidate wanted to make it about leadership, especially the president. mitt romney came wanting voters to see him as commander in chief, commander in chief came determined to make sure that didn't happen. >> i know you haven't been in position to actually execute foreign policy, but every time you've offered an opinion, you've been wrong. >> reporter: time and time again the president's harsh criticism filled with sarcasm. >> a few months ago asked the biggest gee yoe political threat facing america. you said russia, not al qaeda.

you said russia. the 1980s are now calling asking for their foreign policy back. the cold war has been over for 20 years. >> our navy is smaller now than any time since 1917. they said they needed 313 ships to carry out the mission, we're at 285. >> i think governor romney hasn't spent enough time looking at how our military works. you mentioned the navy, for example, and we have fewer ships than in 1916. we also have fewer horses and bayonets. the nature of our military changed. we have these things called aircraft kracarriers where plan land on them. >> before the debate, romney advisors said he would not be the scrappy candidate we saw in the last one. instead, stay solid and steady. not take the president's bait. >> and attacking me is not an agenda. >> reporter: romney repeatedly blamed the president for failing to lead on global hot spots. >> you look at the record of the last four years and say is iran closer to a bomb?

yes. is the middle east in tim ult? yes. is al qaeda on the run, on its heels? no. are israel and the palestinians closer to reaching a peace agreement? no. >> reporter: but for the most part, romney was call nm demeanor and remarkably agreeable on policy from syria to egypt to afghanistan. >> well, we're going to be finished about 2014. and when i'm president, we'll make sure we bring our troops out by the end of 2014. >> reporter: in fact, the republican who democrats try to paint as a war monger used the opening minutes to position himself as a peacemaker. >> i congratulate him on taking out osama bin laden and going after leadership in al qaeda. but we can't kill our way out of this mess. >> reporter: romney got under the president's skin by repeating this allegation. >> and then the president began what i've called an apology tour by going to various nations in the middle east and criticizing america. i think they look at that and saw weakness.

>> nothing governor romney just said is true. starting with this notion of me apologizing. this has been probably the biggest whopper that's been told during the course of this campaign. >> reporter: one of the most fiery exchanges was not about foreign policy, rather something decidedly american. the u.s. auto industry. >> if we had taken your advice, governor romney about, our auto industry, we would be buying cars from china instead of selling cars to china. i'm a son of detroit. i was born in detroit. my dad was head of a car company. i like american cars. i would do nothing to hurt the u.s. auto industry. the companies need to go through a management of bankruptcy. >> that's not what you said. >> take a look at -- >> governor romney, you did not say you would provide help. >> we would provide guarantees. and that was what was able to allow these companies to go through bankruptcy, to come out of bankruptcy. >> let's check the record. >> that is the height of silliness.

>> reporter: now cnn's poll did show that overall the president won this debate, at least that's what the viewers voting thought. but if you look at what the goal of mitt romney was to be seen as commander in chief, he didn't do so bad. look quickly at the polls. can romney handle the job of commander in chief? yes, 60%. asked the same question about the president? he's only three points higher at 63%. again, the whole idea of sitting on the same stage with the president, being able to be seen as a strong leader, that was the goal of the romney campaign. if you look at that particular poll, he didn't do so bad. >> all right, dana bash live in boca raton, florida. thank you very much. as always, the two candidates through out a lot of numbers, figures and claims. we're trying to keep them honest this morning. it was a foreign policy debate. they sparred over troops in iraq. obama claimed that mitt romney recently said the u.s. should still have troops in iraq. listen. >> you say that you're not interested in duplicating what happened in iraq. but just a few weeks ago you

said you think we should have more troops in iraq right now. >> so what are the facts here? in december 2011, romney said we should have left 10,000, 20,000, 30,000 personnel there to help transition to the iraqi's own military capabilities. then just a couple weeks ago romney said, america's ability to influence events for the better in iraq has been undermind by the abrupt withdrawal of our entire troop presence. so the verdict here is true with important context. yes, romney suggested he would have kept some troops in iraq. but this is the important context. on iraq, mitt romney claimed that president obama was looking to keep troops there as well which the president seemed to deny. >> you and i agreed, i believe, that there should have been a status of forces agreement. you didn't? you didn't want a status of forces agreement? >> what i would not have done is left 10,000 troops in iraq that would tie us down. no certainly would not help us in the middle east. >> so what are the facts here?

leon panetta was negotiating to keep 3,000 to 5,000 troops in iraq within a status of forces agreement. it fell apart over the issue of whether u.s. troops would have certain immunity from prosecution. a verdict here is what romney says here is mostly true. president obama did seem willing to leave some u.s. troops in iraq under certain conditions, that deal just fell apart. eight minutes past the hour. as soon as the debate ended and the candidates families took to the stage, cnn's commentators and analysts offered their opinions. >> it's obvious that the president came to attack governor romney came to agree. he agreed with him i don't know how many times. it was not -- i didn't think really he didn't have very much to say, to tell you the truth. >> i don't think this debate is going to change a thing about the trajectory of this race. the first debate said it all. this debate won't stop it. mitt romney has the momentum. you got the sense that american people are so focused on the economy this cycle.

foreign policy debates like this are not going to click. >> and the early part of the debate last night i thought mitt romney did fairly well. president obama dominated the better of the debate. i think he did emerge winning on debate points. >> david gurg insaid he thinks he passed an important test in this debate called the commander in chief test. >> cnn political reporter peter hammy says from 9:00 to 10:45 eastern last night, the top five rising searches on google were horses and bayonets, syria, molly, drones, and tumult. if you missed last night's debate including all the tumult, tune in to cnn noon eastern for an encore presentation. >> and president obama talking about the strength of our economy on his watch as commander in chief. >> and as a consequence, al qaeda's core leadership has been decimated. >> so is this true? we're going to go live to washington to get the real story. hmm, it says here that cheerios helps lower cholesterol

as part of a heart healthy diet. that's true. ...but you still have to go to the gym. ♪ the one and only, cheerios wanted to provide better employee benefits while balancing the company's bottom line, their very first word was... [ to the tune of "lullaby and good night" ] ♪ af-lac ♪ aflac [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. [ yawning sound ]

[ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. the wheels of progress haven't been very active lately. but because of business people like you, things are beginning to get rolling. and regions is here to help. making it easier with the expertise and service to keep those wheels turning. from business loans to cash management, we want to be your partner moving forward. so switch to regions. and let's get going. together.

welcome back to "early start," everyone. president obama and mitt romney sparred face-to-face one final time with each trying to tear down the other's commander in chief credentials. so were any facts harmed in last night's debate? our foreign affairs reporter is doing fact checking now. she's live in washington. the candidates argue over the threat of al qaeda. >> that's right, john. that is one of the big issues of contention. last night president obama said repeating his claim al qaeda's core leadership is decimated. mitt romney says not so really. al qaeda is involved in 10 or 1 countries. there's no disputing that oama bin laden was killed in pakistan. and the obama administration used drones in pakistan killing a lot of the al qaeda operatives. but that focus is on the al qaeda core, the original group.

what is worry so many here is affiliates in yemen, north africa and the arabian peninsula, operating in yemen who had that underwear bomber a few years ago. somalia is considered a threat. they're believed to be tied to that attack in the u.s. consulate in libya. then the unrest in syria provided an opportunity for al qaeda in iraq and that country. so both claims are true, john. president obama's claim on core leadership is weakened. but those affiliates are active and remain a threat. >> so he called mitt romney a flip-flopper on a lot of subjects. onest big ones last night was afghanistan. >> well, that's right. president obama accused mitt romney of initially being against the withdraw of forces from afghanistan in 2014. but as early as last year, mitt romney said he agrees with the

2014 withdrawal date. and he stuck with that. but he has said he would talk to his commanders on the ground to evaluate the conditions in afghanistan before the withdrawal. now this stipulation of seeking advice from kplanderscommanders president obama and mitt romney differ. the obama administration stated in 2014 withdrawal date is absolute. now what romney is always criticized president obama for is announcing that withdraw date. so this claim here is mostly false. governor romney agrees with that 2014 withdrawal but added that caveat, seeking advice from commanders on the ground. that does leave the door open for possibly staying longer. >> it does leave the door open. last night romney was singing a different tune. he said as far as he knows right now the generals are saying 2014 is a good time to come out of afghanistan. that is the first time he said that. thank you. >> it is 15 minutes past the hour. in other news this morning, fungal meningitis outbreak is

growing. federal health officials say that 23 people died across 16 states. the total number of cases has reached 297. the outbreak has been linked to steroid pain injections made by a massachusetts company. the big announcement today from apple. it's not that big of an announcement. it's just a mini one. get it? apple is expected to introduce a smaller version of the popular ipad. rumor floating around the tech world that the screen will be 7.85 inches down from 10 inches. it is expected to cost $250. >> hopefully the fonts will be bigger. the giants win the pennant. the giants win the pennant. did you watch last night? they routed the cardinals 9-0 to complete a remarkable come back winning games five, six, seven going away. san francisco is headed to the world series against the detroit tigers. the giants are 6-0 in games where they faced elimination this postseason. second baseman marco scutaro was series mvp.

giants will have home field advantage tomorrow night in san francisco. >> marco scutaro. >> thank you. >> why can't we get guys like this. >> you poor thing. it is 16 minutes after the hour right now. coming up, our military might buy the numbers. we're going to crunch the numbers to see if president obama's debate claims about defense spending add up. smart c, a crash management system and the world's only tridion safety cell which can withstand over three and a half tons. small in size. big on safety. which can withstand over three and a half tons. ♪ atmix of energies.ve the world needs a broader that's why we're supplying natural gas to

generate cleaner electricity... that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and it's also why, with our partner in brazil, shell is producing ethanol - a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane. >>a minute, mom! let's broaden the world's energy mix. let's go. governor of getting it done. you know how to dance... with a deadline. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. this is awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is, business pro. yes, it is. go national. go like a pro. boring. boring. [ jack ] after lauren broke up with me, i went to the citi private pass page and decided to be...not boring.

that's how i met marilyn... giada... really good. yes! [ jack ] ...and alicia. ♪ this girl is on fire [ male announcer ] use any citi® card to get the benefits of private pass. more concerts. more events. more experiences. [ jack ] hey, who's boring now? [ male announcer ] get more access with a citi card. [ crowd cheering, mouse clicks ] 100% new. 100% mmm... wow, that is mmm... it's so mmm you might not believe it's a hundred calories. new yoplait greek 100. it is so good.

[ male announcer ] gly nimble, ridiculously agile, tight turning, fun to drive 2013 smart. ♪

good morning. welcome back to "early start." u.s. stock futures are down this morning after markets closed flat yesterday. >> that's all great. let's get back to the debate. christine has been looking at the president's claims on military spending and doing fact checks. >> we looked at the president's claumz about military spending. listen to what he said first. >> our military spending has gone up every single year that i've been in office. we spend more on our military than the next ten countries combined. china, russia, france, united kingdom, you name it. the next ten. >> all right. part one of that claim, military spending has been rising in each of the years since he took office. this is true. military spending has been going up over the past four years. independent conflict research think-tank, u.s. military spending has been going up since even before obama took office. in 2008, $621 billion.

it increased every year obama was in office to 2011 when it reached $711 billion. those are in unadjusted dollars. let's take a look at the second part of the claim. he said we spend more on the american military than the next ten countries combined. our verdict, this is a true statement. the u.s. military spending in 2011 was, as i showed you, $711 billion. the next ten countries combined spent $611 billion from the same source. the u.s. spends more on its military than china, russia, uk, france, japan, saudi arabia, germany, brazil, italy combined. when you look at china, you hear people concerned about the rapid rise of china's military. $143 billion in the spending. the difference here, so we outspent them 4-1, the rapid increase in how quickly china is spending money. and they don't have to borrow other people's money to fund its military growth. it has its own dollars. actually dollars that it gets from the united states because

we borrow money to buy their stuff. so that's one of the -- it's not necessarily unbalanced as it looks. >> still, an interesting number to say we spend as much as the next ten countries combined. >> the reason why this comes up is because the sequester at the end of the year. what happens if you have this big huge chunk off a u.s. military spending quickly what does that do to military contractors? what does it do to american military readiness and the like? >> nice to have a little perspectivement we appreciate that. >> thank you. >> we expected president obama and governor romney to disagree during the debate. and, yes, they did, a lot. but there was a surprising amount of agreement, too. you're going to hear them both on the same page coming up. if you're leaving the house, you can watch us on your desktop or mobile phone. go to cnn.com/tv. for more than 116 years, ameriprise financial has worked for their clients' futures. helping millions of americans retire on their terms. when they want. where they want. doing what they want. ameriprise.

the strength of a leader in retirement planning. the heart of 10,000 advisors working with you one-to-one. together for your future. ♪ to meet the needs of my growing business. but how am i going to fund it? and i have to find a way to manage my cash flow better. [ female announcer ] our wells fargo bankers are here to listen, offer guidance and provide you with options tailored to your business. we've loaned more money to small businesses than any other bank for ten years running. so come talk to us to see how we can help. wells fargo. together we'll go far. you know it can be hard to lbreathe, and how that feels.e, wells fargo. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open for 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups.

spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. (blowing sound) ask your doctor about spiriva.

i congratulate him on taking out osama bin laden but we can't kill our way out of this mess. >> we need strong, steady leadership, not wrong and wreckless leadership that is all over the map. >> president obama and mitt romney, the men who want to be president face off one last time, this time over america's power and how to use it. welcome back to "early start," everyone. nice to have with you us this morning. 27 minutes past the hour. the debates are officially done. and with two weeks to go before america votes, both kandz dates are hitting the campaign trail this morning. there's more aggressive president obama who by most accounts won last natureight's

and final debate. he defended his credentials with the gop challenger frequently agreeing with his positions. >> the same as the president did. i want to underscore the same point he made. he was right to up the usage. >> there have been times during the course of this campaign where it sounded like you thought that you do the same things we did but you'd say them louder. >> a cnn/orc poll of people who watched the foreign policy showdown shows 48% favor president obama with 40% for mitt romney. senior congressional expand dana bash live from florida this morning. and the big question i guess is this going to matter? >> no. we will see as the polls start to come out after this debate and the n few days. but it was very, very interesting what he just played did underscore the first debate had president obama trying to avoid those kind of bumper

sticker lines we heard one after another last night while mitt romney tried to just play cool. >> mitt romney came wanting boaters to see him as commander in chief. the commander in chief came determined to make sure that didn't happen. >> i know you haven't been in position to actually execute foreign policy. but every time you've offered an opinion, you've been wrong. >> reporter: time and time again the president's harsh criticism tripped with sarcasm. >> a few months ago you were asked the biggest gee yoe political threat facing russia. not al qaeda. you said rush why. the 1980s are now calling to ask for the foreign policy back. the cold war has been over for 20 years. >> the navy is smaller than any time since 1917. the navy said they needed 313 ships to carry out their mission. we're now at 285. >> i think governor romney maybe hasn't spent enough time looking at how our military works. you mentioned the navy, for example.

we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military has changed. we have these things called aircraft carriers where plane land on them. we have ships that go underwater. >> reporter: before the debate, romney advisors told cnn he would not be the scrappy candidate we saw in the last one. instead, stay solid and steady, not take the president's bait. >> and attacking me is not an agenda. >> reporter: romney repeatedly blamed the president for failing to lead on global hot spots. >> you look at the record of the last four years and say is iran closer to a bomb? yes. is the middle east in tumult? yes. is al qaeda on the run on its heels? no. are israel and the palestinians closer to reaching a peace agreement? no. >> reporter: for the most part, romney was calm in demeanor and remarkably agreeable on policy from syria to egypt to afghanistan. >> we're going to be finished

about 2014. and when i'm president, we'll make sure we bring our troops out by the end of 2014. >> reporter: in fact, the republican who democrats tried to paint as a war monger used the opening minutes to position himself as a peacemaker. >> i congratulate him on taking out osama bin laden and going after the leadership in al qaeda. but we can't kill our way out of this mess. >> romney's successfully got under the president's skin by repeating this allegation -- >> and then the president began an apology tour of going to various nations in the middle east and criticizing america. i think that is a sign of weakness. >> nothing governor romney just said is true. starting with this notion of me apologizing. this has been probably the biggest whopper that's been told during the course of this campaign. >> reporter: now this was a debate that was supposed to be exclusively about foreign policy. at times both candidates tried very hard to wrangle it back here to the united states to talk about issues like the auto

bailout which was a pretty fiery exchange, to education, to teachers and, of course, to the economy. they understand both of them that that is the issue that voters are going to go to the polls on. >> dana, we know that going into the debate both candidates were attempting to woo women. how did they fair there? >> reporter: you know, that was one of the things that fascinating me most about this debate, particularly when you look at mitt romney's performance. we understand from polls historically from exit polls that women tend to be more inclined to sort of recoil from the idea of going -- of military action abroad. that they tend to like the whole concept of somebody wanting to sound peaceful. that is exactly what you heard from mitt romney. he is the definitely appeared to be trying to close the gender gap even more than it already has. women tend to be the last

deciders. that really seemed to be on mitt romney's mind the way he was answering questions or in some cases not answering questions last night. >> we'll be talking shortly here about that specifically and how women reacted to the debate last night. dana bash live for us in boca raton, florida, thank you very much. when it comes to dealing with iran and the nuclear ambitions, mitt romney and president obama agree that a military strike is on the table. but only as a last resort. yet, both candidates accuse each other of being wreckless on issue. so who is right and how do the approaches differ? time for a fact check with tom foreman. >> both of these candidates came into this debate saying that iran's nuclear program is a serious issue and it has been ever since obama took office. >> we then organized the strongest coalition and the strongest sanctions against iran in history. the disagreement i have with governor romney is that during the course of this campaign he's often talked as if we should

take premature military action. i think that would be a mistake. >> i think from the very beginning one of the challenges we've had with iran is that they have looked at this administration and felt that the administration was not as strong as it needed to be. i think they saw weakness. and i think that when the president said he was going to create daylight between ourselves and israel that they noticed that as well. >> they agree on many things, each man says iran will not get a nuke on my watch. each one says economic sanctions are a good way of pushing iran, and each one admits that ultimate lit it may reach the point where a military strike is needed to stop iran's nuclear program. but they very much disagree on what should be emphasized in this equation and in recent months that led each one to suggest my opponent is being wreckless about iran. let's consider the two options here. we'll start with the military one. that's one extreme. to consider that, we brought if a life sized digital model of a missile.

we've done this just so you can see what size it is, how mobile it is and how easily this could be hidden in a bunker or perhaps the hold of a ship. we know iran has plenty of these. they're reasonably reliable. reasonably accurate. and we know they're powerful enough to carry a nuclear warhead in that nose cone right up there. so if iran gets a nuke, it does have a way of delivering it. not the united states. it's not strong enough for that. not even to most of europe. but it could easily reach all of the middle east and certainly it could reach the american ally, israel. iran says it has no designs on that. it's not even trying to build a nuclear weapon. yet, it is widely believed that israel has a contingency plan to attack iran's nuclear facilities and bomb them if need be to keep that from happening. there's no proof that such an attack would work. if it did not, they would have

the pretext for saying we need nukes because look at how we've been attacked. when mitt romney talks about the need for strength, what he means is the u.s. must send a very clear message that if israel attacks that way, america will stand behind israel. barack obama says let's not rattle the sword so much. let's rattle the piggy bank. he's talking about sanctions, the pressure put on the riyadh. this is the official currency of iran. since october of last year trade sanctions from the united states and other countries have really hammered this. look at this. in october of 2011, it took 12,500 riyadhs to equal one dollar. now it's 35,000. some imported products in iran now have doubled in cost since a year ago. a lot of citizens there are very unhappy about it. and this is the theory. by creating economic, social, and political pressure on iran's leaders through this, it will force them to the bargaining

table to talk about giving up the nuclear program and in exchange for the sanctions being lifted. so what's the danger here? the danger here is what if it doesn't work? what if iran uses this, these negotiations as a stalling tactic while a nuclear weapon is being bought? so let's get back to the basic claim here. when these people suggest that my opponent is wreckless with e reckless with iran, they may believe that. we have to give a rate of incomplete. nobody knows how this story is going to play out. only when iran either gives up the nuclear program or announces it has a nuclear bomb will we know who was reckless and who was right. >> that was cnn's tom foreman. if you missed last night's debate or want to see it again including our full sized missiles, tune in to cnn today at noon eastern for an encore president ensa presentation. >> coming up, federal officials

take a hard look at the health effects of energy drinks. it's hard to see opportunity in today's challenging environment. unless you have the right perspective. bny mellon wealth management has the vision and experience to look beyond the obvious. we'll uncover opportunities, find hidden risk, and make success a reality. bny mellon wealth management

the third and final presidential debate is on the books. you're looking at the capitol where both canned baits would like to be next year by all accounts. the third and final debate was a victory for president obama would won the foreign policy face-off according to our polls and most pundits. he was more forceful the analyst saz with mitt romney trstriking more moderate tone and frequently on the defense. joining me with more on last night's debate is anna navarro. our poll of debate watchers found that president did win 48% to 40%. you think that's a fair assessment? what do you think he did well in the debate last night? >> yes, i did see him win last night. i think what he did well was show the authority that comes with being president. it gives him a clear advantage.

you know, john, there is nothing like showing up at a foreign country in a big air force one. i think that showed yesterday. but, you know, i also think romney held his own. and two things i would say to you. yes, barack obama won last night. but mitt romney did not lose to the level that president obama lost in the first debate. and i think this third debate has mattered less than the first debate. we have not seen through the polls that the second debate was nearly a game changer as much as the first debate was. let's remember that before the first debate, president obama had a lead. the momentum was on his side. the trend was good for him. and that all changed as a result of the first debate. i saw mitt romney slightly lose the second debate. we haven't seen that translate into anything in the polls. he now has momentum. we now have have see what will happen.

>> it stemmed some of the bleeding for the obama administration. let's leave that there. was tl was a new tone in a lot of cases for mitt romney last night. spent a lot of time agreeing with the president. let's listen. >> i felt the same as the president did. i want to underscore the same point that president made. the president was right to up the usage of that technology. >> there have been times, governor, frankly, during the course of this campaign where it sounded like you thought that you'd do the same things we did but you'd say them louder. >> now "the new york times" editorial board not surprisingly seemed to agree with the president this morning. they said mr. romney's problem is he doesn't have any real ideas on foreign policy beyond what president obama has already done or plans to do. so you think this is a problem for romney? or is this all part of a move to the center? it is working? >> you know, it happened way too many times for it to be a coincidence. this was obviously a practiced, strategic decision by the romney campaign. and i also heard president obama

many times turn to him and say in a sarcastic tone, i'm glad you agree with me on this one. you know, i think president obama took the opportunity to school mitt romney a bit. and as i said, you know, he's been president for four years. look, four years ago president obama was running when candidate obama was running against john mccain. he had very little foreign policy experience. obviously, he's lesarned something in the last four years. >> do you think this matters? you said the second debate didn't matter. the first one went to romney, the second one to obama. this third one in a way was a rubber match. might it have some effect if a close race? >> i think anything has an effect in a close race. this race is extremely close. but we did see, look, they've now gone through three 90-minute debates. we haven't seen horrific gaffes from any of them. you know, we also haven't seen huge knockout lines or knockout blows from any of them. i was disappointed that governor romney did not take the

opportunity to land a solid blow on benghazi. i was amazed, john, that issue was almost glossed over when it's been such a big issue in the recent past. you know, look, it's -- they're over. now the question is what happens with the undecided? we have a handful of undecided, frankly, around this country. and i'm not sure that they saw anything last night that's going to help them decide today. you know, we have yet to hear on that, too. >> they better decide quickly. >> i hope they do. they're killing me. >> all right, anna navarro, republican strategist, always great to see you. wish you were here us with in studio. thank you. all right. 45 minutes past the hour. the fda secretaryiinvestigating deaths that may have occurred from consuming too much caffeine. this comes after the company was sued by a maryland couple in connection with her teenage daughter's death. it is top selling energy drink.

the stock plunged 14% after that case. >> winter is still two months away. parts of northern california are covered in snow. snow. wow. this is what it looked high in the mountains. >> ski season. >> california highway patrol says drivers were not prepared for the storm. why should they be? it's october. emergency officials responded to a lot of car accidents. facebook investors are bracing for the third quarter earnings report after today's closing bell. the company's revenue expected to reach $1.2 billion, slightly higher than last quarter. but wall street still wants to know how facebook plans to get up to speed with noble ads. as millions of viewers shift to apps on their phones. and about an hour or so this rocket is set to blast off for the next set of international space station crew members onboard. the u.s. and russian crew is expected to reach the station on thursday. the three astronauts already orbiting lab will return to earth next month. 46 minutes past the hour. with both candidates trying to

win the midwest, we're in a key swing state talk together toughest voters out there. they are the deciders. that's coming up. hmm, it says here that cheerios helps lower cholesterol as part of a heart healthy diet. that's true.

...but you still have to go to the gym. ♪ the one and only, cheerios ...but you still have to go to the gym. you see us, at the start of the day. on the company phone list that's a few names longer. you see us bank on busier highways. on once empty fields. everyday you see all the ways all of us at us bank are helping grow our economy. lending more so companies and communities can expand, grow stronger and get back to work. everyday you see all of us serving you, around the country, around the corner. us bank.

at meineke i have options... like oil changes starting at $19.95. my money. my choice. my meineke.

good morning to you. welcome back to "early start." we've been reporting throughout this campaign season, voters in key midwestern states are going to decide the outcome of the

presidential election. cnn's reporters have traveled all across the region. we're taking the pulse of the voters there. this morning we catch up with our reporter in davenport, iowa, located in scott county, the heart of roller derby country. i can't wait to see what you have in store for us, miguel. >> reporter: that will make sense in just a moment. we are in scott county. you know who will be here tomorrow is president obama here in davenport. a few hours later, governor romney will be in cedar rapids. so iowa is on the map. it is highly contested here. i can tell the candidates if they're going to win iowans, they have to work really hard and be really tough. if it's davenport, it's got to be roller derby. scott county is just one of several battle grounds here in america's heartland in this one county alone there are enough votes to turn this state blue or

red. the rollers demonstrated their signature move. >> okay. blocking in front of you. your booty did block me. >> reporter: and by the way, they're really tough. these midwestern women also voters. so it's all about keeping the other side from moving forward. >> right. >> reporter: this is like politics, you realize. >> right. >> waitress connie heart worked at the machine shed restaurant for 26 years. derby name, diamond dust. her specialty, blocking. her biggest issue, the economy. how tough has it been? >> it's been tight. real tight. >> reporter: because less money? higher gas? >> less money. a lot of people don't want to go out to eat. >> by day, carrie is a social worker helping kids with special needs. on some nights, she's lady gotcha, a jammer. that's the one that scores the points. what is important in this election? >> i want to make sure there's

going to be budgeting for the people who actually need it, jobs as well. i want there to be continued job growth. >> reporter: she seas she'll likely vote for a third party. republicans say this is like 2004 with just a few counties broke their way giving bush a very narrow victory here. democrats argue their advantage, the low unemployment rate now just 5.2% among the lowest in the country. this is a single machine? >> this is a sung will machine. it's only part of the machine. >> reporter: scott county in iowa rebounded with help from companies like genesis systems group, a manufacturer of industrial robots and increasingly its business is overseas. are you hiring? >> we have done some hiring this year. i think we're up about ten people. overall. but we're still about 10% lower than we were in 2007. >> reporter: scott county, an economic bright spot in the heartland whose voters can be tough to win over.

oh, my goodness! all rightment we knew politics was bruising. i didn't realize how bruising it could be. the polls here are incredibly tight. the president up consistently by a point or two. but it is very tight. republicans do feel if he can pick up a few votes really in counties like scott county here and others across the state, they can shift the state into their column. >> all right. so where is the focus on the fact that you're taking blows in order to be able to tell the story? we're going to give you high five for that one. remarkable. >> well done. >> anything for you two. you know, it's all about you. >> and we very much appreciate that. thank you very much, miguel. and another key state that will decide the election is colorado. later in the week, miguel will meet voters in jefferson county and he'll join us live from there, golden, colorado. >> at least he was wearing a helmet. all right, we have a pack post debate hour ahead on "early

start" including debate reaction from the man who helped coach mitt romney during primary season. we'll see what fred o'donnell has to say about the governor's performance last night. did he pass the commander in chief test? >> also, we'll hear from romney campaign foreign policy adviser and former senator norm coleman on how he matched up against the president. >> first, you woen want to miss this, your late night laughs coming up next. at shell, we believe the world needs a broader mix of energies. that's why we're supplying natural gas to generate cleaner electricity... that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and it's also why, with our partner in brazil, shell is producing ethanol - a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane. >>a minute, mom! let's broaden the world's energy mix. let's go.

thor's couture gets the most rewards of any small business credit card. your boa! [ garth ] thor's small business earns double miles on every purchase, every day! ahh, the new fabrics, put it on my spark card. [ garth ] why settle for less? the spiked heels are working. wait! [ garth ] great businesses deserve the most rewards! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? [ cheers and applause ] what's in your wallet? the wheels of progress. seems they haven't been moving much lately.

but things are starting to turn around because of business people like you. and regions is here to help. with the experience and service to keep things rolling. from business loans to cash management, we want to be your partner moving forward. so switch to regions. and let's get going. together.

so let's go beyond the winners and losers in last night's debate and talk about the punch line. it's this morning edition of "late night laughs". >> tonight president obama and mitt romney hold their final

debate in boca raton, florida. yeah. oh, yeah. the topic of the debate is what is more shocking to see in boca raton, a mormi imormon or a bla. >> so there were three. three episodes. that makes it nbc's most successful show so far this season. and, you know, you know the debate was special because it was broadcast in 3-d. as if the candidates were reaching in and taking your wallet right out of your pocket. >> they say mitt romney won the first debate. now pundits are also saying that second debate probably won by president obama. whoever wins the third debate, that's the one held tonight, will meet the tigers in the world series. >> that's special. >> all right. "early start" continues right now. last words. >> i congratulate him on taking out osama bin laden. but we can't kill our way out of

this mess. with two weeks to go and with the race scary close, president obama and mitt romney stare each other down one last time and take their parting shots. >> the s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back. >> i'm not going to wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to russia or mr. putin. after the election he'll get more backbone. >> from rose glasses to red line to red ink did mitt romney gain any red states? >> attacking me is not an agenda. >> or did president obama zing his way to a win. >> so the question is not a game of battleship. >> we go to the scorecards on a special "early start." good morning, welcome to "early start," i'm john berman. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. it is 6:00 a.m. in the east. up first, president obama and mitt romney in their final face-off before america votes. and by most accounts it was a more forceful president obama who came out ahead last night. >> the majority of viewers and

political pundits agreeing romney was playing defense for much of this foreign policy face-off and a cnn/orc poll of people who watched this third and final debate shows that 48% favored president obama, with 40% saying mitt romney won the debate. the president now two for three in these showdowns. he also won the second debate by seven points after taking a 42-point drubbing in debate number one. that might have been the important one. senior congressional correspondent dana bash is live from boca raton this morning. hey, dana. >> hey there, john. you know, it is already very clear that debates matter a lot. all you have to do is look at how mitt romney was able to come back in the polls across the country after he did so well in the first debate. this one was a little bit more tricky for the candidates, though, because it was on foreign policy, which is not high on the voters' priority list. so both candidates really try to make it a question of leadership. especially the president.

mitt romney came wanting voters to see him as commander in chief. the commander in chief came determined to make sure that didn't happen. >> i know you haven't been in a position to actually execute foreign policy. but, every time you've offered an opinion, you've been wrong. >> reporter: time and time again, the president's harsh criticism dripped with sarcasm. >> a few months ago when you were asked who's the biggest geopolitical threat facing america, you said russia. not al qaeda. you said russia. the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because, the cold war's been over for 20 years. >> our navy is smaller now than any time since 1917. the navy said they needed 313 ships to carry out their mission. we're now down to 285. >> i think governor romney maybe hasn't spent enough time looking at how our military works. you mentioned the navy, for example. we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. well, governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military's changed. we have these things called

aircraft carriers where planes land on them. we have these ships that go underwater. nuclear sub marines. >> reporter: before the debate, romney advisers told cnn he would not be the scrappy candidate we saw in the last one. instead, stay solid, and steady. not take the president's bait. >> and attacking me is not an agenda. >> reporter: romney repeatedly blamed the president for failing to lead on global hot spots. >> you look at the record of the last four years and say, is iran closer to a bomb? yes. is the middle east in tumult? yes. is -- is al qaeda on the run? on its heels? no. it is -- are israel and the palestinians closer to reaching a peace agreement? no. >> reporter: but for the most part, romney was calm in demeanor and remarkably agreeable on policy. from syria to egypt to afghanistan. >> we're going to be finished by 2014. and when i'm president, we'll make sure we bring our troops out by the end of 2014. >> reporter: in fact, the republican who democrats try to

paint as a war monger used the opening minutes to position himself as a peacemaker. >> i congratulate him on taking out osama bin laden and going after the leadership in al qaeda. but we can't kill our way out of this mess. >> reporter: romney successfully got under the president's skin by repeating this allegation. >> and then the president began what i've called an apology tour of going to various nations in the middle east, and criticizing america. i think they look at that and saw weakness. >> nothing governor romney just said is true. starting with this notion of me apologizing. this has been probably the biggest whopper that's been told during the course of this campaign. >> reporter: one of the most fiery exchanges was not about foreign policy, but rather something decidedly american. the u.s. auto industry. >> if we had taken your advice, governor romney, about our auto industry we'd be buying cars from china instead of selling cars to china. >> i'm a son of detroit. i was born in detroit. my dad was head of a car company. i like american cars.

and i would do nothing to hurt the u.s. auto industry. i said they need these companies, need to go through a managed bankruptcy. fortunately the president -- >> that's not what you said. >> you can take a look -- >> governor romney -- >> you can take a look -- >> provide government help. >> i said we would provide guarantees and that was what was able to allow these companies to go through bankruptcy, to come out of bankruptcy. >> let's check the record. >> that's the height of silliness. >> reporter: now overall in the instant poll that cnn did, certainly the president seemed to win. but mitt romney did very well in a place where his campaign was really hoping he would, and that is could he be commander in chief? on that issue, 60% of voters said yes. and that's not that far off from the president. where he got 363%. of course he already is the commander in chief. john and zoraida? >> all right, dana bash down in boca. thanks so much. we want to wry in senior cnn political analyst and editorial director for the national journal ron brownstein.

>> good morning. >> so president obama described as confident and commanding. mitt romney, though, scoring points on people are saying he looked presidential. what do you make of it? >> well, no, i thought actually the president clearly drove this debate. he was much more confident. he was more commanding. mitt romney, you know, was a little bit of who was that masked man? this was the first debate when he moderated positions on domestic policy. he really went much further on foreign policy, and really throwing off the persona of the spring. which was much more of kind of a bristling, you know, i'll be tough on our enemies around the world and even tough on our allies around the world, kind of bend them to our will. last night you know, the lion -- i'm sorry the lamb devoured the lion. it was right from the first answer he was trying very much to blur differences rather than sharpen them, with the president, in a way, i think mostly to reassure female voters that he was not kind of the war monger that he thought the president was going to portray him out. >> so our poll and the pundits seem to agree the president won last night. the question is, does it matter?

remember there was a game seven playing last night. there was monday night football. will this make any kind of dent? >> nothing is going to be as consequential as the tirs debate. because in the first debate mitt romney established himself as a viable alternative for millions of people who are dissatisfied with president obama's performance. and you can't, in effect, redisqualify him after he crossed that threshold. but look, i think the president was very -- you know, very reassuring last night in the sense of being kind of a strong hand in turbulent times. and mitt romney, i think, was much more tentative than he was either of those first debates. and he also, on the one hand, neutralized the one attack of the president, trying to sharpen the sensation that he's too quick to think about work. he opened himself up to another kind of argument, he's serially adjusting and rethinking his positions. overall the goal of a challenger in a foreign policy debate is to cross the commander in chief threshold. he didn't vault over the bar but he got over the bar. >> you just mentioned women, and we do have some numbers.

both of them were going in to women and you actually said you really felt that romney would hyperfocus on that. when you talk about who won with women, 41% women for obama and 34% for romney. >> it's 56 for obama, 34 for romney. >> right, exactly. so look, the president in polling is looking at historically low numbers among white men. both campaigns think that is relatively locked in. that is not going to chang much. that there is much more malleability at the end, moveability, if that's a word, among women in the final stages. and the president i think, given that second debate and everything that's happened after, really focusing on issues trying to move his numbers back up among women, which declined after that first debate. and i think you saw him yesterday, that steadiness, may have been very appealing. romney, i think, tried to be less threatening. i mean, you know, he was across the board we can't kill our way out of this. we don't want another iraq or

afghanistan. much more kind of diplomacy tone on iran than during the primaries. but there was a sense, i think, of unsteadiness that may have hurt him more with women. >> the 22-point gap among women that's where obama wants to be. >> that's where he has to be. if he is going to win this election it appears that it's going to be women moving back, blue collar women in the upper midwest that have been hanging with him and maybe more of the white collar women in the sun belt. i think that's his formula for getting to 270. >> ron brownstein, cnn political analyst. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> we appreciate it. >> always good to see ron. as the two candidates threw out a lot of numbers, figures and claims we're trying to keep them honest this morning as much as we can. on russia, president obama charged mitt romney said russia is our biggest foe. and romney defended himself. >> a few months ago when you were asked what's the biggest geopolitical threat facing america, you said russia. not al qaeda. you said russia. and the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy

back. >> russia, i indicated, is a geopolitical foe. not -- excuse me. it's a geopolitical foe and i said in the same paragraph, i said, and iran is the greatest national security threat we face. >> so the facts, which all played out in a cnn interview with wolf blitzer are this. romney said that russia was one of our biggest threats. but he added, north korea and iran also when pressed by wolf blitzer. let's listen. >> this is to russia. this is without question our number one geopolitical foe. they fight every cause for the world's worst actors. the idea that he has some more flexibility in mind for russia is very, very troubling, indeed. >> so you think russia is a bigger foe right now than let's say iran or china or north korea, is that what you're suggesting, governor? >> well, i'm saying in terms of a geopolitical opponent, the nation that lines up with the world's worst actors, of course the greatest threat that the world faces is a nuclear iran,

and nuclear north korea is already troubling enough. but when these terrible actors pursue their course in the world, and we go to the united nations looking for ways to stop them, when assad, for instance, is murdering his own people, we go to the united nations and who is it that always stands up for the world's worst actors, it is always russia, typically with china alongside. >> so it's really true on both sides. romney did call russia our biggest geopolitical foe. and then only when pushed by wolf he expanded to include iran and north korea. although it's interesting, even then he said that russia was behind iran and north korea. >> all right. it is:minutes past the hour. coming up, scoring the debate from a strategy point of view. we're talking to a man who's helped candidates prepare for the big stage before. ♪

keys, keys, keys, keys, keys. ♪ well, he's not very handsome ♪ to look at [ sighs ] ♪ oh, he's shaggy ♪ and he eats like a hog [ male announcer ] the volkswagen jetta. available with advanced keyless technology. control everything from your pocket, purse, or wherever. that's the power of german engineering. ♪ that dirty, old egg-suckin' dog ♪ that's the power of german engineering. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ it's hard to see opportunity in today's challenging environment. unless you have the right perspective. bny mellon wealth management has the vision

and experience to look beyond the obvious. we'll uncover opportunities, find hidden risk, and make success a reality. bny mellon wealth management [music: artist: willy moon ♪ everybody well don't you know it's me now? ♪ ♪ yeah who's it, who's it huh? ♪ ♪ willy's back with a brand new beat now, ♪ ♪ yeah doin' it doin' it up! ♪ heyyy yeah, tryin' to bite my style! ♪ ♪ heyyy yeah, how you like me now? ♪ ♪ na na na na na na na na ♪ and everybody go uh! at meineke i have options... like oil changes starting at $19.95. my money. my choice.

my meineke. all right so debates are about policy, they're about politics but they're also very much about performance. joining me to help score all of this is brett o'donnell, he helped prepare mitt romney for some of his primary debates. he's also worked with george w. bush and john mccain. so brett, our cnn poll of debate watchers last night found that president obama won the debate 48% to 40%. you agree with that assessment? >> probably so. i mean i think president obama was the more aggressor of the two candidates. and the aggressor tends to be viewed as the winner, and so given the fact that he was on the attack more than governor romney was, people are going to perceive him as doing better in the debate. >> we were speaking during the break and you said you were genuinely surprised by something that mitt romney sort of left on the table. >> yeah, the very beginning. the very first question when bob

schieffer explicitly directed the question toward libya, trying to get them to engage in a back and for the over benghazi, governor romney stayed away from that issue, went immediately to a broader foreign policy agenda, and then took the osama bin laden card off the table. >> he took a lot off the table. he spent a lot of time agreeing with president obama on a whole range of subjects. let's listen. >> i felt the same as the president did. i want to underscore the same point the president made. the president was right to up the usage of that technology. >> there have been times, governor, frankly, during the course of this campaign where it sounded like you thought that you'd do the same things we did but you'd say them leader. >> the new york times editorial board agrees with the president. it said mr. romney's problem is that he does not actually have any real ideas on foreign policy beyond what president obama has already done, or plans to do. is this a problem for romney or is this a strategy? >> i think it's a strategy.

last night you saw him basically hug the president to death. and the problem was it frustrated the president, and really, in an election that's centered on the economy, this was a strategy that governor romney could prosecute and get away with. >> what's the priss k there? that the president is able to look himself more presidential and more like a strong leader? >> it let the president look like the commander in chief. but all governor romney had to do was pass the commander in chief test, which he did effectively. he was able to demonstrate that he'd be a calm hand as commander in chief, and if he gets over that bar, the big issue is the economy. which, if you go back and look at the debate, i thought he did a pretty good job of. >> you said that mitt romney frustrated the president. the president did continue one of his new line of attacks on mitt romney, really calling him a flip-flopper in that romney hasn't stayed with any consistent foreign policy message. let's listen. >> governor romney, i'm glad that you agree that we have been

successful in going after allocate today. but i have to tell you that, you know, your strategy previously has been one that has been all over the map. so, what we need to do with respect to the middle east is strong, steady leadership. not long and rockless leadership that is all over the map on a whole range of issues. whether it's the middle east, whether it's afghanistan. whether it's iraq. whether it's now iran. you've been all over the map. >> mitt romney did use substantially new language on the issues of afghanistan and iran. does the president have a point here and is that a risk for mitt romney? >> well, it's a risk only if people really pay attention to it. that's the problem. i think for the president. this is not a foreign policy election. there's no indication that governor -- the big question mark was, is governor romney going to be a war monger? and he answered that question effectively last night by pushing his peace agenda, which,

you know, was his message of the evening, too. it was clear the president wanted to show that governor romney would be erratic, that he's been all over the map. he pushed that message throughout the night. but the frustrating thing, i think, for the president is, last night governor romney was consistent. whether or not that's a new position and whether or not the president can exploit that in the last two weeks in an economic election is a tough task. >> yes or no, this debate matter? >> i don't think so. >> fred o'donnell, debate coach extraordinaire of candidates past and present. thanks very much for being with us. >> it is 19 minutes past the hour. let's get you up to date on the other big stories. to the harassment and child endangerment trial of douglas kenne kennedy. a maternity ward nurse testifying in tears that kennedy, the son of late senator robert f. kennedy, twisted her arm and kicked another nurse as he tried to take his newborn son outside. the assistant d.a. said the nurses were simply following protocol during the january incident. the defense called the nurse abrasive and confrontational.

go mini or go home. apple is expected to introduce a smaller version of the ipad today and rumors are floating around the tech world that the ipad mini screen will be 7.85 inches, so that's down from 10 inches. it is also expected to cost around $250. >> the san francisco giants are world series bound. they won 9-0 last night in the seventh game of the nlcs to complete really a remarkable comeback. the giants are 6-0 when facing elimination this season. they'll have home field advantage in the world series against the detroit tigers. in game one, man, it's tomorrow night in san francisco. get ready for that. >> and both candidates coming down hard on china. how bad is the trade imbalance between the two countries? we're checking the facts. that's coming up. one.

two. three. my credit card rewards are easy to remember. with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, i earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. [ both ] 2% back on groceries. [ all ] 3% on gas! no hoops to jump through. i earn more cash back on the things i buy most. [ woman in pet store ] it's as easy as... [ all ] one! -two. -[ all ] three! [ male announcer ] the bankamericard cash rewards credit card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. [ male announcer ] the bankamericard cash rewards credit card. [music: artist: willy moon ♪ everybody well don't you know it's me now? ♪ ♪ yeah who's it, who's it huh? ♪ ♪ willy's back with a brand new beat now, ♪

♪ yeah doin' it doin' it up! ♪ heyyy yeah, tryin' to bite my style! ♪ ♪ heyyy yeah, how you like me now? ♪ ♪ na na na na na na na na ♪ and everybody go uh!

good morning and welcome back to "early start." we're minding your business this morning. u.s. stock futures are down after markets closed flat yesterday. >> but our money guru christine romans is looking at some of the president's claims on u.s. trade with china. >> when you talk about money and american jobs you're talking about china. both candidates talking tough about the world's second largest economy in that debate, and the president claims that his policies are working. >> now, with respect to what we've done with china already, u.s. exports have doubled. since i game into office. to china. and actually, currencies are at their most advantageous point for u.s. exporters since 1993. >> all right. so on exports he's right but only if you look at two isolated

months. if you just compare the month the president took office when we exported $4.2 billion worth of u.s. goods to china, and you look at august of this year, the exports have doubled. but if you look at the trend, exports are not there yet. let me repeat that. he hasn't doubled exports to china if you look at the longer-term trend. 2008 exports to china were $69.7. last year $103.9 billion. this year we're not quite on track to double it. also as exports have risen so have imports. that's the important part of the ledger. what goes out, what comes in. the trade deficit is worse since two thaud nine. we're exporting more but we're importing more, too. so, also, much of the candidate's criticism was focused on china's currency. it keeps it artificially low to make its products cheaper than american products. there have been recent progress as the president said. china has let its currency appreciate a tiny bit. but it is still held within a

band set by the chinese government and that, you guys, along with a host of other chinese government policies still make china's exports, give them an edge over u.s. exports. >> only they can explain it as clearly as you do. >> are you making fun of me? >> no, i'm serious! it was great. >> it makes sense. 25 minutes past the hour. we've had big bird, binders. and this time around bayonets. you'll hear last night's debate buzz word and so much more. begin.

tomato, obviously. haha. there's more than that though, there's a kick to it. wahlalalalallala! smooth, but crisp. it's kind of like drinking a food that's a drink, or a drink that's a food, woooooh! [ male announcer ] taste it and describe the indescribable. could've had a v8. to meet the needs of my growing business. but how am i going to fund it? and i have to find a way to manage my cash flow better. [ female announcer ] our wells fargo bankers are here to listen, offer guidance and provide you with options tailored to your business. we've loaned more money to small businesses than any other bank for ten years running. so come talk to us to see how we can help. wells fargo. together we'll go far.

wells fargo. alriwoah! did you get that? and...flip! yep, look at this. it takes like 20 pictures at a time. i never miss anything. isn't that awesome? uh that's really cool. you should upload these. i know, right? that is really amazing. the pictures are so clear. kevin's a handsome devil that phone does everything! search dog tricks. okay, see if we can teach him something cool. look at how lazy kevin is. kevin, get it together dude cmon, kevin take 20 pictures with burst shot on the galaxy s3.

i congratulate him on taking out osama bin laden and going after the leadership in al qaeda. but we can't kill our way out of this mess. >> what we need to do with respect to the middle east is strong, steady leadership. not wrong and reckless leadership that is all over the map. >> president obama and mitt romney, the men who want to be your president, face off over america's power and how to use it. welcome back to "early start." thanks for being with us this morning, i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm john berman. 30 minutes past the hour. with 14 days now to go before america votes, 14 days, mitt romney and president obama are back on the campaign trail this morning. with the final debate behind them, and us for that matter. according to majority of viewers and political analysis, it was a more forceful president who won last night's third and final showdown. a cnn/orc poll of people who watched the foreign policy

debate shows that 48% said that president obama won with 40% saying mitt romney. our senior congressional correspondent dana bash is live from doboca raton, florida. >> hey, john. mitt romney came in clearly determined not to make any gaffes, to do no harm, in this very important last debate. as for the president, he came determined to paint mitt romney as somebody who is a naive novice who doesn't really get the nuance of the world stage. mitt romney came wanting voters to see him as commander in chief. the commander in chief came determined to make sure that didn't happen. >> i know you haven't been in a position to actually execute foreign policy. but, every time you've offered an opinion, you've been wrong. >> reporter: time and time again, the president's harsh criticism dripped with sarcasm. >> a few months ago when you were asked what's the biggest geopolitical threat facing america, you said russia. not al qaeda, you said russia.

the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back. because the cold war's been over for 20 years. >> our navy is smaller now than any time since 1917. the navy said they needed 313 ships to carry out their mission. we're now down to 285. >> i think governor romney maybe hasn't spent enough time looking at how our military works. you mentioned the navy for example. that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. governor we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military has changed. we have these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. we have ships that go under water. nuclear submarines. >> reporter: before the debate romney advisers told cnn he would not be the scrappy candidate we saw in the last one. instead, stay solid, and steady. not take the president's bait. >> and attacking me is not an agenda. >> reporter: romney repeatedly blamed the president for failing to lead on global hot spots. >> you look at the record of the last four years and say, is iran closer to a bomb? yes.

is the middle east in tumult? yes. is al qaeda on 9 run, on its heels? no. are israel and the palestinians closer to reaching a peace agreement? no. >> reporter: but for the most part romney was calm in demeanor and remarkably agreeable on policy. from syria to egypt to afghanistan. >> well we're going to be finished by 2014. and when i'm president, we'll make sure we bring our troops out by the end of 2014. >> reporter: in fact, the republican who democrats try to paint as a war monger used the opening minutes to position himself as a peacemaker. >> i congratulate him on taking out osama bin laden and going after the leadership in al qaeda. but we can't kill our way out of this mess. >> reporter: romney successfully got under the president's skin by repeating this allegation. >> and then the president began what i've called an apology tour of going to various nations in the middle east, and criticizing america. i think they look at that and saw weakness.

>> nothing governor romney just said is true. starting with this notion of me apologizing. this has been probably the biggest whopper that's been told during the course of this campaign. >> this 90 minute debate was supposed to be exclusively about foreign policy. but each candidate tried to bring it back to the economy so many times, john, and zoraida. and it's pretty obvious why. they understand that that is the number one issue that voters care about. >> thanks, dana bash. thanks for being with us after this debate and all the debates. let's make a date to do it again in four years. >> a debate for four years from now. or a date. joining me now with more on last night's final presidential debate is cnn contributor and republican strategist ana navarro, and cnn political analyst roland martin. roland i'm going to start with you. our cnn poll showed debate watchers thought president obama won. so briefly, what do you think he did well, and what do you think he did wrong? >> last night was sort of like a

ventriloquist. there was president obama, and then mitt romney constantly saying, i agree, mr. president. i agree with that policy, mr. president. i agree with that policy, mr. president. maybe it should have been bob schieffer and president obama for one-on-one last night. romney was sitting there sweating, clearly got outclassed. he couldn't lay a hand on the president when it came to libya. so no doubt, you saw who clearly was comfortable and strong being commander in chief. and romney, again, a lot of things that he's said on the campaign trail, last night was, oh, no, it's all good. i'm sort of different now. >> ana, i would think that you would probably agree with roland on libya, wouldn't you? >> yeah, i do. it was the first question, right off the bat. i think mitt romney was a little off when he came out of the gate. in those first -- in the first and second question he was nervous. i think he was -- he might have been overprepared. he was trying to put everything out on the table at once and in the meantime he missed the point on benghazi on really slamming

the solid blow. i think he recovered as the debate went on, he gave some very solid answers, along the debate. but president obama was prepared. and had some very solid rebuttals. >> so, roland just mentioned that romney spent a lot of time agreeing with president obama last night. so there's a piece this morning in "the new york times" and it says, quote, mr. romney's problem is that he does not actually have any real ideas on foreign policy beyond what president obama has already done. or plans to do. >> right. >> so ana, do you think this is a problem for romney? >> i think it was a strategy. you know, yesterday morning the obama campaign came out with a new ad, and the new ad was all about, it's a clearer choice. let me tell you guys, if you saw that debate last night, i didn't see that clearer choice. and i think that that's what mitt romney was trying to do. to, you know, take away the argument of the obama campaign that he is a war monger, with a twitchy finger who wants to shoot all enemies dead. >> but ana, here's the problem.

you've heard mitt romney repeatedly for the last several months, frankly, last several years, and last night you hear a different person. and again, it was constantly, i agree, i agree, i agree. ask yourself the question, then, if i'm watching two candidates, and all you can say is, i agree, then why do we need you in the oval office as commander in chief, if we've already got the person there who you're constantly agreeing with? he kept going back to even in terms of iran, when it comes to sanctions, we need to have more the president's sitting there going, yeah, we've already done that. we've already done that. and so, he clearly was demolishing and was outclassed. the president was clear, i'm the commander in chief, let me show you how this is done. >> let's talk about that phrase, commander in chief. ana, one second here. the cnn poll of debate watchers asked can he handle the job of commander in chief. so look at these numbers, 63% said obama could, and 60% romney could. >> and that's our poll of likely

voters. if you look at the poll of cbs uncommitted voters last night, obama won 53%, romney 23%. a 30-point difference. if you're already a likely voter if you're republican, you're set in stone. if you're a democrat, you're set in stone. if you are undecided, that's who you're trying to reach right now, who was more effective last night? clearly president obama over mitt romney. >> undecideds and women, ana. how do you decide to that? >> let me respond to what roland has said before. look the foreign policy aspect is part of the presidential job description. but right now it is not the most important. >> part of? >> no, the economy is. and i think every american would agree with that. i think it's a very important part, but it's not the most important. not right now. not where we are. >> whatever you hear -- >> wait, wait, wait, hold on. roland, hold up. i know president obama likes to interrupt, but i'm not in the mood to be interrupted this morning. >> ana, you -- >> i'll interrupt. >> you're a republican downplaying commander in chief

role when gop has always been a winner in that area. >> i'm not downplaying it. but you're asking why do we want somebody else? well, because he offers different policies on other issues, roland. you know. and i think he got under your skin. >> actually -- >> and president obama's skin because they did agree a lot last night. >> i'm going to interrupt. i really appreciate both of you this morning. ana navarro, cnn contributor and republican strategist, roland martin, cnn political analyst. we always invite you back. thank you so much for being with us. >> wow, that was debate number four. >> yeah. >> meanwhile, our poll of last night, and many pundits believe that president obama won the debate. but, can governor romney hold his own? and will that be enough come election day? one of his key foreign policy advisers, former republican senator norm coleman of minnesota is going to join us right after the break. anncr: every president inherits challenges.

few have faced so many. four years later... our enemies have been brought to justice. our heroes are coming home. assembly lines are humming again. there are still challenges to meet. children to educate. a middle class to rebuild. but the last thing we should do is turn back now. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message. the wheels of progress haven't been very active lately. but because of business people like you, things are beginning to get rolling.

and regions is here to help. making it easier with the expertise and service to keep those wheels turning. from business loans to cash management, we want to be your partner moving forward. so switch to regions. and let's get going. together.

soledad o'brien joins us now with a look at what is ahead on "starting point." good morning. >> hey, zoraida. good morning to you. coming to you live from boca raton in florida. the site of last night's presidential debate from bayonets to detroit, from red lines to al qaeda, we're holding the candidates to their words. breaking down the facts for you this morning. we'll also take a look at the night's most memorable moments with massachusetts senator john kerry, former minnesota senator norm coleman, and bill burton with priorities usa action pac. also this morning are some energy drinks. we're going to tell you about an investigation into monster energy drinks. and baseball fever. the giants make it into the world series. all the highlights for you this morning. that's coming up right at the top of the hour on "starting

point." back to you, "z." >> thank you. >> so it was likely the last time these two candidates for president could look each other in the eye before election day. the third and final debate in boca raton, florida, this one, of course, focusing on foreign policy like we've been saying all morning. i want to bring in former republican senator norm coleman of minnesota. he is a key foreign policy adviser for the romney campaign. and senator coleman, our debate after the poll last night of people who watched found that president obama won the debate. the spread was about 48% to 40%. do you agree with that assessment? was this a clear win for president obama? >> well, the question is, what's winning. and the most important part about winning is whether people said could governor romney be a good commander in chief. and on that number it was about 60-something percent. perhaps the more important question about winning is winning in terms. i believe on the cnn poll governor romney was slightly ahead. it was a ppp democratic polling group th had people saying more likely to vote for governor romney 47-35.

less likely more likely to vote for president obama 32 less likely 46. and that was a poll also that said on points, on points, president obama won the race. and the final analysis this is an election. people are looking for who can be the commander in chief. hat governor romney did last night is he tied having a strong economy as being essential to having a strong military strong foreign policy and clearly on that point he clearly won the debate. >> what he also seemed to do last night, more than he has ever done before, and i've covered him now for, you know, five years, is he seemed to agree with president obama on a whole range of foreign policy issues. seemingly for the first time. let's listen to what he said. >> i felt the same as the president did. i want to underscore the same point the president made. the president was right to up the usage of that technology. >> there have been times, governor, frankly, during the course of this campaign, where it sounded like you thought that you'd do the same things we did, but you'd say them louder. >> why all this agreement,

senator? did the governor miss a chance to separate himself from president obama on foreign policy? >> no, i don't think it's about, you know, trying to separate himself. i think what the governor did last night, what he accomplished and what americans wanted to see, was somebody who could be a strong commander in chief. i think one of the other things that governor romney showed last night, he showed in the course of the debates is here's somebody who's focused on getting things done, who worked with folks to get things done, and i think folks in america are crying for that. is he going to argue over the use of drones? no he supports it. there are those things you can agree we can agree. everything doesn't have to be a battle. the question is how do you make america more secure? by rebuilding this economy. governor romney laid out his five points how he's going to do it. the president, again not a plan, not a way forward. simply saying trust me and the next four years will be better. bottom line is you don't have to fight over everything. governor romney demonstrated that and reflected back to his time in massachusetts as a republican governor, and a democrat state and he says i know how to get things done.

and i think that's what folks in america are looking for. >> it's not so much about fighting over everything. it's about taking a different line than he has in the past on some issues. take afghanistan, for instance. in the past, governor romney has been critical of the president giving a timetable for withdrawal in afghanistan. he has also said specifically he would consult with generals before withdrawing troops in 2014. last night it was a decidedly different tone. let's listen. >> when i'm president, we'll make sure we bring our troops out by the end of 2014. the commanders and the generals there are on track to do so. we've seen progress over the past several years. the surge has been successful, and the training program is proceeding apace. >> again, in the past mitt romney very critical of the president for issuing a timetable. in the past mitt romney saying he would consult with generals before withdrawing troops. i don't think i've ever heard him say the commanders and generals say we are on track to withdraw by 2014. so this really does feel like a new tone on afghanistan. >> well, where i would disagree

with that, i think the governor has been very, very clear that he's on with the 2014 time line. the president said, the president talked about negotiating a ten-year commitment to afghanistan. it's ending military operations in 2014. but the president has talked about a longer-term commitment. bottom line, governor romney has always been very clear about that. he's always been very clear about working with commanders on the ground. but 2014 date was set. i think governor romney criticized how you said it, criticized whether that was the way to set it. kind of announcing it publicly. perhaps without fully consulting with commanders on the ground. i don't think he's ever argued the point that we're going to live with the 2014 deadline. >> last question for you, senator coleman. kind of a fun one, hoping you can shed some light on a statement that got a lot of play on twitter and the internet overnight when mitt romney was talking a little bit about geography between syria and iran. let's listen quickly to that bite. >> syria is iran's only ally in

the arab world. it's their route to the sea. it's their route for them to arm hezbollah in lebanon, which threatens, of course, our ally israel. >> now a lot of people pointed out overnight that iran actually has a lot of coastline of its own. it's got the persian gulf there. so is syria -- syria doesn't even border iran. so is syria, in fact, iran's route to the sea? >> yeah, there is no question that syria is iran's route to supply hezbollah. syria is iran's route to supply terrorists. and so, he's absolutely correct on syria being kind of the linchpin of iran spreading its influence on the region. i'm not going to argue geography. but everybody understands syria is the kind of front man for iran. you take out assad you hurt iran very seriously. >> all right. former senator norm coleman of minnesota conceding that iran does, in fact, have coastline of its own. it is great to see you this morning. >> thank you so much. >> 49 minutes past the hour. we just heard from the romney team. coming up the view from the left on last night's debate.

did president obama do what he set out to do?

in just moments a soyuz rocket is set to blast off. there it goes with the next set of international space station crew members. >> as they head on a two-day trip to the international space station.

>> 30 seconds into the flight. good first stage performance. the soyuz delivering 102 tons -- >> live pictures right now of that russian soyuz rocket blasting off to the international space station. it's a three-member crew. a u.s./russian crew expected to reach the space station on thursday. the three astronauts already on board will return to earth next month. again, there the soviet rocket goes right now at this very moment on the way to the international space station. zoraida? >> that is so cool that you caught it right when it was launching. thank you. >> i appreciate it. all right, president obama came out swinging last night and it wasn't lost on voters. our cnn poll of debate watchers found that 68% felt that the president spent more time attacking mitt romney. so joining me now is former white house communications director under president clinton don behr. he's the worldwide president and ceo of the public relations firm berston. cnn debate watchers give the

debate to president obama. who do you think or what do you think he did well last night? >> well, think president obama showed that he's learned how to run foreign policy well. he was steady and strong. he was also sort of aggressive and assertive with regard to governor romney. you know, i actually think this. this has been a very long, confusing campaign. very rancorous campaign. you boil it down, pretty simple. the american people want two things, peace and prosperity. and actually if you listen to that debate last night, both sides are trying to talk about how do we get more peace? and how do we get more prosperity? and that's really what it came down to. >> do you think romney did as well? >> you know what? i think romney came across as someone who is credible as commander in chief. which was probably his first bar and only bar for that debate. >> the president was clearly on the attack last night. we mentioned the cnn poll. but so was mitt romney. let's listen to this.

we don't have that. so, but here's my question, if you were on the obama campaign, would you concerned that going on the offense the way that he did would affect the voters? >> well, i think the challenge for that is that he maybe looks too aggressive. on the other hand, he's in a position right now, we know where the momentum has entered this race as of late, he needed to do that. i think he needed to be strong in terms of the defense of his foreign policy over the last several years. now, the romney he thought was going to turn up didn't turn up for this debate. and therefore, there might have seemed to be a bit of a mismatch there. but i think overall, the country wants to see that the president is assertive with regard to american security. and i think they saw that last night. >> so what you do is you prepare presidents for debate. the last incumbent democratic president to run for re-election, bill clinton, you prepared him for the debate against bob dole that was back in 1996. not that long ago. so president obama did not fail to pull rank last night. let's listen to that.

>> well, my first job as commander in chief, bob, is to keep the american people safe. and that's what we've done over the last four years. here's one thing i've learned as commander in chief, you've got to be clear. both to our allies and our enemies, about where you stand, and what you mean. one thing i think americans should be proud of when tunisians began to protest, this nation, me, my administration, stood with them earlier than just about any other country. >> so, in our poll of debate watchers, nearly as many people said romney could actually handle the job as commander in chief. what do you make of those numbers? >> well, i think romney crossed the main bar that he needed to cross last night. he did not come off as seeming to have a hair trigger. he seemed like someone who could be in the oval office and do the job. but i have to say, president obama also showed how much he has learned. you know, remember, when he ran,

one of the questions was, would he be able to step up to foreign policy and do the job? clearly he feels very confident about this. >> are you saying it was kind of an even match last night? >> i think it was kind of toe-to-toe. >> interesting. >> on to the next 2 1/2 weeks of the election because that's really where this is going to go. this is going to be a long slog to the end and everyone knows it. >> here's one of obama's strongest retorts to criticism from romney about the navy having fewer ships than it did in 1917. let's listen. >> i think governor romney maybe hasn't spent enough time looking at how our military works. you mentioned the navy, for example. and that we had fewer ships than we did in 1916. well, governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets. because the nature of our military's changed. we have these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. we have these ships that go under water. nuclear submarines. and so the question is not a game of battleship where we're counting ships. it's what are our capabilities? >> so, horses and bayonets.

bayonets is one of the top trending things on google last night. might it hurt president obama in key battleground states like the state of virginia, perhaps, where these navy ships are made? >> well, i doubt it. i mean, i don't think people are parsing it quite that way. i think people are looking for the demeanors, are these people strong? are they resolute? i think they saw that in both of them. i actually think you can kind of take the foreign policy issues now off the table and go back, i talked about peace and prosperity. i think this is about prosperity. how are we going to return to it? and which one of these candidates is better able to get us there. >> don baer really appreciate your perspective this morning. we're going to take a quick break. we'll be right back.

delicious sugar-free vitafusion fiber well gummies have more fiber than other leading brands. they're the better way to enjoy your fiber. that is all for "early star start". >> a special edition of "starting point" with soledad o'brien starts right now, live from boca raton. welcome, everybody. our "starting point" this morning. it was the final face-off. pr